My kids had a singing performance this week and I wanted to make something special for dessert afterwards. I was flipping through an old Betty Crocker magazine and found these darling cookies and immediately began assembling ingredients. I’ve glanced at these cookies a few times over the years but never made them because I thought they looked too time consuming. I’m relived to say they were much, much easier than I thought they’d be! The dough came together quickly and decorating the cookies was a snap! Plus~ look how they turned out! They’re so cute!

Caramel Apple Cookies

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Cookies:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel on Top:

1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping + 1.5 TBSP flour

or

24 square wrapped caramels + 2 TBSP water

{I didn’t have 24 caramels and didn’t want to sit and unwrap them all anyways, so I did the ice cream topping method and it worked beautifully!}

***You’ll also need 18 wooden sticks. I tried both the wide craft sticks and thin popsicle sticks and both worked well!!

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In large bowl, beat sugar, butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough 1/3 inch thick. Cut with an apple-shaped cookie cutter. Or, if you’re like me and don’t have an apple-shaped cookie cutter, use a pumpkin cutter and simple turn it upside down!

On a parchment lined or lightly greased cookie sheet, place cutouts 2 inches apart. Carefully insert 1 inch of wooden stick into side of each cookie. {Into the stem of the pumpkin.} Don’t let this step scare you, it’s actually really easy! Just take one hand and lightly touch the top of the cookie while you use your other hand to push the popsicle stick in the cookie. You’ll be able to feel exactly where the stick is in the cookie- I tried to push it in until it was almost to the top of the cookie.

If you’re using caramel ice cream topping: mix topping with flour until smooth.

If you’re using caramel squares: In 2-quart saucepan, heat caramels and water over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. If caramel glaze becomes too stiff, heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until softened.

Spread top third of each cookie (opposite wooden stick) with caramel glaze. Hold cookie upright to allow glaze to drizzle down cookie. If it’s not spreading a lot, add more caramel! You can also encourage the caramel to spread down one side or another by adding drips to certain sections of the top of the cookie. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles.

Allow cookies to sit out about an hour for caramel to harden a bit. Lay flat to store.

These cookies are a “must-make” for the Holiday season. They are soft, moist and so yummy.

GLAZED PUMPKIN COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

nuts and/or chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium sized bowl, take the first five ingredients (flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg) and mix together thoroughly. Set aside.

In another bowl or stand mixer bowl, mix together the margarine, sugar, pumpkin, egg, vanilla and optional chocolate chips or nuts. The margarine may look lumpy and not blended well into the mixture. This is ok because when we add the flour mixture it will blend together just fine.

Add the flour mixture in 2 – 3 batches, mixing thoroughly each time.

Using a spoon or cookie drop, drop cookie batter on to a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place cookies at least 2 inches apart to allow for spreading during baking.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Place baked cookies onto a cooling rack and place the cooling rack on top of the cookie sheet. (See image below) This will help catch the glaze that falls off the cookies.

GLAZE INGREDIENTS

2 cups (16oz) powdered sugar

3 tbsp. milk (may end up using more, depending on consistency)

1 tbsp. butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. If you find the mixture to be too thick (shows up bright white on the cookies) add some more milk until it becomes more transparent on the cookies. It will dry a little whiter on the cookie.

Allow to dry. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!! With the Holiday season approaching, this is the perfect treat for neighbor and teacher gifts. Here is a printable for you to attach to the gift. Just right click, save and print from your computer.

Melt chocolate gently in the microwave. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick foil. Lay the chopped cookies on the foil. Pour the chocolate on top and spread it evenly with an offset spatula. Sprinkle on some more chopped cookies and set in the freezer to set. Cut into pieces! Yum!